Copyright plays a crucial role in academic institutions. Although, copyright protection has been in existence in India for more than 150 years, copyright issues in academic institutions have not received enough attention. This paper attempts to look at the issues in the background of the philosophical justification for copyright protection. After a bird’s eye view of the basics of copyright, the paper looks at the traditional issues relating to scope, ownership and use of copyrighted works in educational institutions, in the light of case laws. Then the possible issues that Indian educational institutions may have to face in the context of the emergence of digital technologies and widespread use of information technology are examined. The paper concludes with certain suggestions for the consideration of the educational institutions.

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